Fuel fires: A driver's worst nightmare
By Jason Mitchell, Stock Car Racing Magazine
January 23, 2002
12:19 PM EST (1719 GMT)
When it comes to fuel safety in NASCAR events, competitors don't need a lot of prompting from series officials. Teams and crew chiefs are aware that fire is a driver's worst fear.
Because of this, stock cars are built and inspected on a regular basis to catch any flaws in the operation and safety of the fuel systems. That process begins at a team's shop before loading up and heading to the track, where NASCAR officials are waiting to double-check their efforts as part of the inspection process.
Winston Cup and Busch Series teams know there is a gray area in NASCAR's rule book on most issues, and virtually every one of those operations will do everything within its power to stretch the boundaries.
But when it comes to bending the rules of fuel safety, teams historically have been reluctant to risk exposing their drivers to fire. It's one of the unwritten codes between a driver and team.
"When it comes to fuel safety, that's one area where everybody plays by NASCAR's rules. You're simply playing Russian roulette if you don't," says Eddie Dickerson, director of chassis engineering at Hendrick Motorsports. "In the long run, it's not even worth considering. You're better off moving on to something else and not even taking a chance on the fuel safety."
Hendrick Motorsports prepares the Winston Cup cars driven by Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Jerry Nadeau.
"For the most part, teams understand the safety issues, and I think they understand how serious we are about it," says Kevin Triplett, director of operations for NASCAR. "The teams need some credit, too, because they're also serious about it. The teams will push the envelope in a lot of areas to be more competitive, but when it comes to doing something to infringe on the integrity of safety, we really don't find a lot of that. That's good because that is a very serious thing to us."
SAFE FLOW
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Robert Pressley crashes at Bristol in 2000.
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While the inner-workings of a stock car can be quite complicated, that's not the case with the fuel systems that hold 22 gallons of 110-octane gasoline.
As most race fans have noticed, the fuel enters the car by a gas man who dumps two 11-gallon containers of gasoline into an intake at the left rear of the car. The fuel flows downward through a metal tube straight into the fuel cell in the lower trunk portion of the car.
From there, it's a matter of the gasoline traveling up through the fuel filter, just above the fuel cell, and into a hole at the right rear of the car. At that point, the fuel line enters the interior of the car and runs through an aluminum tube covered with heat-protective outer tape. The tape prevents the cockpit temperatures from reaching the fuel line. From there the fuel line runs along the passenger side into a frontal chassis hole where the fuel line tubing leads up into the carburetor.
FILLING UP
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This photo shows the rear rollbar and steel rack that protects the fuel cell. Also, on the right, the fuel line enters the passenger compartment of the car, wrapped in heat-resistant tape. Photo by David Bourne.
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From the gasoline tanks at each track to the carburetors of each car, all parties involved work to handle fuel safely. At fueling stations, officials with Tosco Unocal 76 ensure their fuel is handled and dispensed safely.
The area in which fuel cans are filled is totally secured. No one is allowed inside this area except Tosco crewmembers, and each of them wear full Nomex gear, from socks to goggles. Also, no cans are filled unless firemen are present.
When a team comes to the area, the Tosco crew fills the cans and gives them back, so even the teams are not allowed inside the fueling area. Once the filled fuel cans leave this area, the issue of fuel safety shifts to NASCAR.
INSPECTIONS
NASCAR officials make teams go through safety inspections before their cars are allowed on the track, and fuel systems get a close check.
Teams are first required to take their fuel cells apart. NASCAR inspectors check to make sure the fuel cells are the right thickness, and have gauges they can use to check to make sure the fuel cells aren't too large. The inspectors also look to see that the braces around the gas tank fit tightly.
Mike Laughlin, a leading stock car chassis builder, says NASCAR isn't going to let teams get away with anything when it comes to jeopardizing the integrity of their fuel systems.
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An aluminum tube shields the fuel line inside the passenger area of the race car. Photo by David Bourne.
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"NASCAR is so stringent on their inspections in Winston Cup and Busch, you just don't want to mess around with the fuel lines and stuff," Laughlin says.
Because some of the top-level teams buy their chassis from Laughlin Racing Products, Laughlin says his doors are always open to NASCAR officials who pay impromptu visits to his Simpsonville, South Carolina, shop.
"Over the years, through both good and bad, whenever there's been an accident we try and learn from them because we can't always head them off," Laughlin says. "The good thing about NASCAR is if anything does happen to create a problem, that very same problem probably isn't going to happen again if they can help it.
"NASCAR is going to try and find a remedy to whatever the problem might be. All that has evolved from back a few years ago when we didn't have these fuel cells and the way they fuel the cars. Plus, with the way the teams run the fuel lines, they're about as safe as you can get."
Laughlin knows first-hand the importance of fuel safety. His son, Mike Laughlin Jr., was badly burned in 1996 as a result of a fiery Busch Series crash at Homestead.
"It's like I've always said, you can have EMS people come and help you if you're hurt or have a broken bone, but if it's a fire, you've got to save yourself," Laughlin says. "There's nothing else you can do because nobody can get to you quick enough to help you in those types of situations."
FUEL CELLS
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The fuel line exits the passenger area and reaches the engine compartment. Again, heat resistant-tape is used for protection. Photo by David Bourne.
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Since the fuel lines inside the car can be double-checked with a quick look, a lot of the inspection process by NASCAR centers in the trunk area of the car. That's where officials will look to make sure the fuel cell is secured with the proper rear roll bar, also known as the halo bar, and to make sure the fuel cell bladder has not passed the mandated five-year expiration limit.
"NASCAR always checks the date on the fuel cells," Dickerson says. "Always."
The fuel cell bladder is made of a flexible Kevlar material, and the bladder literally has to be stuffed into the steel fuel cell container inside a small opening on the top that's sealed by a blue check valve secured to the fuel cell with 24 bolts. The inside of the bladder contains soft and absorbent safety foam that keeps the fuel from sloshing around and helps to suppress explosions.
For the most part, there are three openings on the check valve: the fuel intake valve for the gasoline to enter, an overflow valve to the rear where the catch-can man releases the pressure, and the actual fuel line itself. Some teams may elect to use a check valve with a small fourth opening so they can check to make sure they have enough gas in their car for short and long practice and qualifying runs.
NASCAR requires that both the fuel intake and overflow valves have heavy steel balls that will seal gasoline from escaping if the car flips. NASCAR officials will then look to make sure that the length from the rear deck-lid to the top of the fuel cell is between the required 18 and 21 inches.
NASCAR will also make sure the fuel cell is securely held in place by a protective steel rack on top that is bolted onto the car's chassis. Once officials have deemed the fuel system safe for the weekend, they will bolt on two sets of specially designed clamps. One set is attached to bolts where the fuel cell is attached to the check valve, and the other set is used where the outer steel cage is bolted onto the chassis.
OTHER CHECKS
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After inspecting a fuel cell, NASCAR officials will attach a clamp to one of the bolts used to connect the steel cage to the chassis. Photo by Sam Sharpe.
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Once that process has been completed, unless the teams break any of the four seals, the fuel cell inspection process by NASCAR is complete for the weekend. From there, it's a matter of the teams making any extra safety checks.
A team's gas man inspects the dump cans every week to make sure everything is working fine. He'll make sure nothing is crooked or obstructed, and he'll look to see that the gas cans get a good tight seal on the car when they're used.
Dickerson says teams take fuel safety seriously even after an event, such as when the cars are unloaded at the shops and repairs get underway for the race ahead.
"When we weld in the shop, we don't allow a car into an area where we're welding at if it has a fuel cell in it," Dickerson says. "That's our own law we go by here at Hendrick Motorsports. If people are welding a car here, they'd better not have the fuel cell in the car. It's a rule we've always stuck by. Sometimes you can be like, 'Ah, shoot, the gas tank is only half full and we're going to be welding on the front of the car.'
"But when you have the amount of sparks we have flying, we've pretty much let our guys know we don't want a car to come through the door with the fuel cell in it. That's just good shop safety."
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